After the fall
by OfInkandFeather
Summary: Koro-sensei's death doesn't mean the end of the E Class. As they face the future for which they fought so hard, even the most stoic assassins find comfort in the unbreakable bonds that were forged during their year together.


_It is now that everything will become hard_ , Chiba thought as he and the other pupils of the E-Class were reunited in the main building, where their parents would soon come. What expected them seemed a lot more uncertain and dangerous than their beloved teacher's assassination had been. Oh sure, Karasuma _-sensei_ had made his best to protect them. But at this point, the whole world probably knew these students. Actually, they were almost surprised, for they hadn't been under such a strict surviliance that last week. They had been thought to be defenseless. They were barely children, after all. Yet when he looked around him, Chiba only saw assassins ready to fight. Okuda, with her poisons. Karma, with his monstruous strengh. Nagisa, with his incredible gift. And the list went on and on... They were twenty-eight, twenty-eight potential threats disguised under a student's uniform. And, although the whole world had ignored them until now, it was now pretty obvious. They had succeeded where the armies of the whole world had failed. They had killed Koro _-sensei_.

Isogai broke his classmates' silence. It wasn't tha surprising : he was their president, after all, he had always been and would always be. Beside him stood Kataoka, her eyes still watery, who could barely look up from the floor.

"Everyone...", Isogai called. Chiba felt rassured to hear his voice, as confident and collected as always. "I know this is going to be a bad time. Karasuma _-sensei_ , and Bitch _-sensei_ too, won't be able to protect us when our parents come." Some pupils shook at this thought, others looked down. "I want you all to know... I know, this is strange and all, but... I am proud of each of you. Killing Koro _-sensei_ was the hardest thing we ever accomplished, and I am glad we did it together. I... I wouldn't have been able to do it alone." Some pupils raised their heads to look at him, some smiled poorly. To hear those words gave them a little more confidence and warmth. "What I mean is that whatever happens, wherever we go from now on, we're still a class. We're the E-as-in-End Class, and we are assassins. Whatever happens from now on, let's face it together."

Then someone started clapping. _It must have been Maehara_. And then everyone joined him and clapped, though their hearts were painfully beating, and quietly sobbing. It felt as if they were all one, just as when they had killed Koro _-sensei_ , or when they had faced the A-Class months before. They were all peculiar, but together, they were _unkillable_. Just like their teacher.

 _Korosenai_.

The first parents arrived a few moments later. Kurahashi and Yada ran to them, as well as some of their closest friends. They were crying, and their parents looked like they couldn't believe it. Someone had told them their well-behaved daughters were part of the assassination classroom. Truth was, neither Kurahashi or Yada looked like murderers ; they looked so young now, crying incontrollably as they tried to explain the situation. In the end, it was Kataoka who translated their sobs into understandable words to their families. Chiba observed them with a slight annoyance : couldn't they see how distressed they were ? Did they really need someone to assure them that they weren't monsters ? Couln't they just hug them, reassure them, _do something_ ?

A flash of ginger hair caught his attention. Hayami Rinka reached for her friends and allowed Kurahashi to cry in her arms. Her lips were moving though he couldn't tell what she was saying. But Hayami was a generous, kind soul : he imagined she was trying to relax her friend, even if her own eyes – eyes so green and bright that Chiba could never miss them – had lost most of their usual calm. She too had been crying after Nagisa delivered the final blow.

For a moment, their gazes met, throught the veil of his bangs, and she tried to regain her composure. Failing miserably. He wanted to reached for her and tell everything would be alright ; but something held him back. He couldn't tell what. It just felt impossible. Hayami was never the kind of girl to express her feelings or say she needed anything. Most of the time, she could handle everything on her own, both the best and the worst. He didn't know what to do to help her. He wasn't even sure she would allow him to comfort her.

Then the door opened again, and new parents entered. The whole class started moving towards them, wondering if their families were among them. Chiba followed the movement, and was soon beside Hayami. She glanced at him throught blurred eyes, before looking away again. He took her hand in his, leading her to the stairs.

A few moments later, the two of them were alone in a silent corridor. Hayami's face shone in the moonlight as tears ran down her cheeks. She looked like she had tried her hardest to prevent them from falling, and couldn't help but shake before him. His heart twitched in his chest at this sight. It reminded him of how, a year before, he had seen her crying, alone, in a room she was supposed to clean, after receiving a letter informing her of her transfert to the E-Class.

"Hayami..."

He rose a hand, shyly, and gently touched the top of her head, ruffling her hair with awkward moves. The girl, surprised, muttered something under her breath. A hiccup prevented her from saying anything he could understand. He doubted anyone had ever seen her in this state.

"Hey, don't cry... Shh, don't cry, Hayami, please..."

The boy leaned down, embracing her slender frame, as clumsily as ever, and hid his own face in her shoulder. That must have been funny to watch, since he was taller than she was. But she didn't seem to care about the strangeness of it, or to worry about what one could think if they were found ; she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her grip was tight, as if she didn't want him to let go. She made no sound as she criedn even though her breathing sounded shaky and her irregular. He felt her tears soak his shirt, but couldn't care less about that.

For a long while, neither of them moved. The world around them felt cold and merciless. Only a cruel world could have made these students kill their teacher, the one who had taught them to trust their abilities and their comrades. Chiba remembered how great he had felt the first time he had reached the bulleye during a training : the rifle in his hands suddenly felt lighter, the light piercing throught the leaves became softer, and the smile on his partner's face grew brighter. She too had reached the bulleye for the first time that day, and he recalled with a frightening precision how she had turned to face him, and how they had bursted out laughing together, relieved. For the first time, she felt _good_ at something, they felt _good_ around other people. He remembered pretty much everything about this year : the chocolates she had given him on Valentine's day, the tank Itona I, the holidays on the island resort, the exams, the taste of failures and of success... _This year_ , he thought, _has been wonderful_.

It took Hayami a while to steady her breathing and heartbeats. Even as she calmed down, she didn't let go of Chiba, and neither did he.

"Sorry 'bout this...", she muttered, her face still pressed against his shoulder.

"No worries."

 _I won't tell anyone_.

 _Thank you_.

The two best marksmen of the E-Class then walked around the corridor to sit down in front of a window to watch the stormy sky cry over Koro-sensei's death. They held hands tight, in a pitiful attempt to comfort each other, and sometimes, one would lean closer to the other and rest their head on their shoulder.

"Our parents must be with the others", the girl whispered.

"Yeah, probably." An awkward silence followed. "Let's just stay here a little longer."

"Yeah, alright. I don't want to see them right now."

Chiba nodded. Her mother was an obnoxious, pesky, rude woman. She had very little in common with her only daughter : where the girl was quiet, honest and clever, the woman was noisy and idiotic. No wonder Hayami had been so scared and depressed because of her transfert to the E-Class : she had thought her mother would kill her. As for her father, he was rarely at home, and didn't stand for his daughter either. Hayami had once told Chiba that she was glad Koro-sensei gave them so much homework because in the end she didn't have to spend a lot of time with them. It was a daily basis to eat after them, to shower before them and to spend the rest of the time alone, chatting with her classmates and studying and praticing her marksmanship.

"They're going to be so mad", Hayami said, her head lowered. "Not because I'm an assassin, just because I went out at night."

"Is there anything I..."

"No !", she interrumpted him before calming down. "Thanks, but no. Don't worry about it. I'll handle them."

"If you need anything, call me."

"I will." She smiled a sad smile and immediately changed the subject. "You mom must be worried."

"She always is..."

"But she loves you." He shrugged, not looked so convinced, so she added : "She does. You can tell by the way she greets you, by how proud she looked when you showed her your results... She's... nice."

He had to admit, his mother was nice. She had never complained about his grades, but mostly because she didn't understand his attitude. He had never been very talkative, that was the source of her worries. Yet, contrary to Hayami's mother, she always tried to talk to him and to show a welcoming smile to the rare friends he had brought home.

"D'you remember that time you went home to study maths ?"

"That time she couldn't stop from asking us if we needed anything ? Yeah. That was fun..."

"After you left, she had me tell everything I knew about you. I think she thought you were my girlfriend or something."

Hayami rewarded him with a true chuckle, full of amusement and gentleness. He grinned as well, and squeezed her hand tighter. She replied the same way.

They had gone on a few _dates_ together over the year. Most of the time, they went shooting or studying, but what he really called _dates_ were the times they had gone out to take a coffee together, or to walk around for no particular reason. They weren't good with words, so it had always felt a little awkward. But they had grown close enough not to need to talk anyways. She could tell when he was interested in something or when he was pissed of by the way his lips twichted almost unpreceptibly ; he could see in her eyes when something bothered her or when she enjoyed herself. They had never told anyone about those secret dates : Koro _-sensei_ was too much of a gossip to allow him to know, and the others would misunderstand it. There wasn't anything romantic about them. They felt at ease around each other. They had faith in the other. They shared many experiences and traits.

"I think my mother thought that too. She wasn't used to see me hang out with boys."

"I guess that applies to mine as well." He sighed and leaned down to her shoulder. This position wasn't really confortable, but he liked to stay like this. "It would be nice to meet again."

"You mean, like a date ?"

"Yeah. I guess we'll need some time to get used to our new high school..."

"You're right. But at least, we'll be together."

He nodded with a grin. Together. This thought warmed his body like a summer breeze, running over his spine and spreading to his limbs. By pure chance, they had chosen the same high school. They were both good students, and all the efforts Koro _-sensei_ had put into this last year had made them pass the entrance exams with little to worry about.

"I wonder what this year will be like, don't you ?", she asked. Her voice sounded collected and stoic, but he _saw_ it – that glimpse of curiosity and apprehension in her eyes.

"I have no idea... Who knows ? We're assassins, we should prepare for anything."

"Like a yellow octopus ?"

He chuckled under his breath. "You got it."

They sat in a confortable silence, thinking, their heads resting one against the other. Tehn Chiba took his headphones from his pocket and gave her one ; they started listening to the quietest songs he knew, and she thanked him for this since she wasn't as much of a fan of metal music. She was used to listen to Jazz music, during her dance classes ; her friend admitted he liked it – though he actually prefered her dancing than the background music. She was excellent at it ; no wonder her balance and kinetic vision were _this_ developped. Even now, her fingers danced on his hand following the song's rhythm, before intwining with his.

"Hey."

"Hm ?"

"How about we go shooting ?"

"Now ? B-but it's the middle of the night ! And our parents..."

She didn't need to keep on talking. Her eyes were like an open door to her mind : he saw worries, fears, he saw memories of her mother being furious, he saw pain and insecurities. His hand ghosted over her cheek and she jumped out of surprise. He had never been touchy before, but again, that night was quite exceptional.

"Do you trust me ?"

"You know I do. It's _them_ I don't trust."

"... I understand." She sighed, relieved. "I think... we should go and see them." Her face twitched almost unperceptibly before returning to its usual stoicness, but he understood all the same. "I'll be there. Okay ?"

She muttered "okay" without meeting his gaze and let go of his hand to stand. She was already heading towards the room when he took her by the wrist. She didn't turn.

"I'll be there, Hayami."

"I don't think... that would be a good idea. I should talk to them alone."

 _But you've been alone enough already_ , he wanted to say. She tried to walk away from him but his grip was strong, more so than ever before. Sometimes he was really annoying – how could he not understand that she needed to face her problems alone ?

"Chiba", she averted, her voice stern and cold. "You said we should go."

He took a step, and a new one, until he was before her again. A lone tear rolled over her face, full of frustration and unsaid anger. Anger towards her parents, who never cared – towards herself, who never stood for her own good – towards her teachers, towards everyone...

"Rinka", she jumped as he called her by her first name, "you're not alone anymore. I'm here."

With those words he simply wiped her tear away and left his fingertips running on her pale, porcelain-like skin. She closed her eyes, and he almost thought she was mad at him. Nevertheless when she opened them, they were soft and bright, shining and smiling.

"... You... you really have better to stay with me if you want to call me that...", she whispered. After what seemed like an eternity, she finished, hesitantly : "Ryuunosuke."


End file.
